The Swire Pacific-owned vessel, chartered by CGG and working for Origin Energy, arrived in Taranaki waters late last week, shot the Kupe 2D survey, and is now berthed in Port Taranaki for bunkering and a crew change.
It is due to leave the port tomorrow and head north for a possible three-month job shooting over 3000km of 2D and 400 square kilometres of 3D in licences PEP 38618-619 for operator Origin Energy and partner OMV, Origin Energy chief geophysicist Randall Taylor told PetroleumNews.net from Brisbane this morning.
“It’s the first time the guys have been on land for a while,” he said. “Their previous job was for Geoscience Australia, working on the Lord Howe Rise.”
Taylor said it took less than a day to shoot the 40km of high resolution 2D seismic aimed at detecting shallow gas over the central field area of the Kupe field and some nearby prospects that may be drilled as part the Kupe development later this year.
Origin executive exploration manager Rob Willink last month told PNN that the Titan and fellow Swire Pacific boat Duke, formerly the Polar Duke, were due in NZ waters during January for seismic campaigns over several permits in different geological basins for Origin Energy and its various partners.
Willink said that following the Kupe survey, the Titan would go north to the edge of the Taranaki-Northland geological basins to shoot a combination of 2D and 3D seismic in PEPs 38618-619.
It would shoot about 1910km of 2D seismic in the Pantheon survey and about 430sq.km in the Nimitz survey. Both surveys are in PEP 38619 and both are targeting many leads and plays.
Then a further 1200km of 2D seismic would be acquired in the Akira survey further offshore in PEP 38618.
Origin and Austrian firm OMV hold equal stakes in PEPs 38618 and 38619. Origin is operator.
But today Taylor said the Duke was not now expected to arrive in NZ waters, from the Indian Ocean, until late March.
Once it arrives, it is expected to shoot about 2000km of 2D seismic across PEP 38262 and the adjacent PEP 38264, both of which Origin operates with 100% interest.
The Kupe partners are Origin with a 50% stake, Genesis (31%), NZOG (15%) and Mitsui E&P NZ (4%).
